April 29 cont...
I got off the bus, put on the pack for first time and was instantly mortified as I swayed before getting my balance.
I could see the Tokyo Train Station (it was the size of a notsosmall city) but didn't know how to get across the 32 lane street to get to it. With a look that told me I wasn't the first to ask, the girl in the convenience store blandly pointed to the Underground that I had stepped over to get in the front door of the store.
I got to the train station to find a maze of row after row of sterile tiled floors and shops.
I finally asked an attendant where I could find a place to get bus tickets - he seemed to find pleasure (more because he didn't have to walk far to show me, than a passive-aggressive power-trip) in pointing at the line right beside me.
I paid for an overnight trip to Osaka. It was going to be dark so I wasn't going to regret not seeing the countryside (which I was about to see more than enough of anyway) and I could sleep, saving money on accommodation.
When I had paid, I stood in bewilderment again. I felt like I was surrounded by a transparent brick wall - nothing made sense - no-one made sense and I literally froze. I forced myself to start walking and set off in a direction (they all looked the same).
I saw a bank of lockers and remembered reading about them in the Lonely Planet.
I found one the size of a caravan which was perfect for my pack, changed a note and shoved the change in the slot - quietly pleased with myself (of course I had to stand back discretely to watch how others did it first, keeping my hands out where everyone could see them so they didn't get nervous).
What a release!
How the feck was I going to lug that thing around for the next two months!!
I seriously considered inquiring whether they had Sherpa's in Japan.
No comments:
Post a Comment